Instantaneous shutter for cameras



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

E. EKOOLLISON, Jr.

7 INSTANTANBOUS SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS.

No. 341,887. Patented May 18, 1886.

INVENTOR,

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

- E. E. COLLISON, Jr.

INSTANTANEOUS SHUTTER POP. GAMERAS. I No. 341,887. Patented May 18, 1886.

F 15; E5LE Hm. l W, "1' lllnlnu IMI WI TJV' ESSES 36C @W k i 4 INVEJVTQR, Mm %J% W 'k H Attorney f UNITED STATES EDIVARD ELOTT GOLLISON,

PATENT OFFICE.

JR.,' or EE-IN, TENNEssEE.

INSTANTANEOUS SHUTTER FOR CAMERAS.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent No. 341,887, dated May 13, 1886.

Application filed November 2, 1885. Serial No. 181,666. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWARD Eno'rr COLL soN, Jr., a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Erin, in the county of Houston and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Instantaneous Shutters for Cameras; and I do hereby declare that the following to is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification, and in which Figure 1 is a perspective View of a portion of a photographic camera provided with my improvement. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical cross-section of the same. Fig. 4 is a similar view showing the shutters held open; and Figs. 5 and 6 are perspective detail views of the trigger mechanism and a portion of the shutters, showing the trigger mechanism set and released.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures.

My invention has relation to so-called instantaneous shutters for photographic cameras, and it consists in the improved construction and combination of parts of a shutter, which may be operated by means of air compressed in an elastic ball or bag, or by means of a trigger mechanism, rendering its action more or less quick, as desired, as hereinafter more fully described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, the letterA indicates the front wall of a camera, and the said wall has an aperture, B, around which a bushing, G, is secured,having a collar or flange, D, which is secured to the outer side of the wall, and formed with a screw-thread upon its edge, and a sleeve, E, which is screwthreaded inside, and within which the tube F, in which the rear object-glass orlens, G, is secured,turns,thesaidtube beingscrew-threaded upon its outer side.

His the tube, in which the outer objectglass or lens, I, is secured, and the inner end of this tube is formed into an enlarged cylindrical chamber, J, within which the shutters are secured.

The shutters K and L are nearly half-moon shaped or sickle-shaped, having their concave edges semicircular, and are pivoted at their wider ends, M, at diametrically-opposite points of the'forward side of the cylindrical casing, which is screwed upon the flange of the bushing upon the front wall of the camera.

The shutters are pivoted at points at a dis tance from the points of their inner ends, and have sleeves N and O, which turn upon the pivotal pins P and Q. The sleeve N has a spiral spring, 1%, secured to it and to the side of the casing, the said spring serving to force the shutter over the aperture S in the front wall of the casing, and the upper end of the sleeve has a portion, T, cut away, through which cut-away place or notch an arm, U, pivoted at its inner end upon the pivotal pin, may project, the said arm bearing against one end of the notch in such a manner that when it is tilted toward the middle of the casing it will force the shutter open, while it will allow the shutter to be opened by other means without being moved by it. A rod, V, having a head at its outer end, is pivoted to the outer end of this arm, and bears with its head against a bulged diaphragm, \V, ofrubber or similar material, which is secured in a cylindrical casing, X, projecting through the side of the large cylindrical casing. A flexible tube, Y, is secured to the outer end of this smaller casing, and is provided with an elastic bulb or ball, Z, by compressing which the diaphragm may be bulged inward,forcing the pivoted arm inward, while by again being allowed to expand it will allow the dia phragm to collapse and the arm to retire to its normal position, the shutter of course following the motion of the arm. A connecting-rod, A, is pivoted to the inner end of the shutter, forward of the pivotal sleeve-that is, between the sleeve and the adjacent point of the shutterand the other end of this connectingrod is pivoted to the inner portion of the other shutter, to the rear of its pivotal sleeve; and it will be seen that when the first-mentioned shutter is opened by compressing the elastic bulb the other shutter will also be forced open, the shutters opening in a manner similar to the lids of the eye, forminga gradually-rounding oblong aperture. The spring upon the pivotal sleeve of the-first-mentioned shutter will close that shutter when the bulb is at lowed to expand, closing the other shutter with it; and it will be seen that by having the meeting edges of the shutters concave and semicircular the aperture will gradually contract toward the center, allowing the closing and opening of the aperture for the light-rays to be nearly even all around'the aperture, and at'the same time to increase toward the end of the motion, so that the closing of the aperture may be as near instantaneous as practical.

For the purpose of producinga still quicker opening and closing of the shutters than can be accomplished by compressing and releasing the bulb, and which will be useful in taking a picture of a very swiftly moving object, I provide a trigger mechanism at a point of the cylindrical casing diametrically opposite to the diaphragm, which mechanism may be set so as to open and close the shutters in a moment of time. This mechanism is inclosed in a casing, B, projecting pntward upon the cylindrical casing, and a short shaft, 0, is journaled in one end of the casing and provided with a thumb-lever, D, at one end. Within the casing a circular disk, E, having a notch, F, in its periphery, is secured upon the shaft, and the coiled end of a spring, G, is secured to the disk. The other end of this spring bears against the under side of a lever, H, pivoted upon a shaft,1, having its inner end adapt,- ed to engage the notch in the circular disk A red, J, projects out through the top of the casing from the outer end of the lever, and is provided with a knob or button, K. An arm, L, curved outward at its outer end, projects from the shaft 0 into the cylindrical casing,

and a spring, M, is secured upon the rear face of the'shutter,pivoted near the trigger mechanism, and has its free end projecting down through a perforation, N, in the shutter, the said bent end 0" being adapted to bear against the convex edge of the curved arm, while it will allow the arm to slip under it when the concave edge bears against it; or, in other words, the spring will bear against the curved arm when the latter is tilted into the cylindrical casiugmrhile it will allow the arm toslip under it when it is tilted toward the side of the casing. The shaft 1 has a lever, P, atone end and an eccentric disk, Q, at its other end, the said disk being at thev side where the thumb-lever is. It will now be seen that when the'thumb-lever is tilted downward the lever or trigger H will engage the notch in the disk with its inner end, the spring bearing against its outer end, and thus retainingthe disk and the leverin their tilted position, the spring upon the shaft being wound upon it by tilting the lever downward, and by depressing the button upon the trigger the disk and shaft and lever will be allowed to fly back into their original position by the force of the released spring, and the curved arm upon the shaft will strike the bent end of the spring upon the shutter, forcing the pointed end of the pivoted portion into the cylindrical casing, opening the shutter,and passing the said bent end 'willallow it to again close, all of which motions happen in a moment of time.

\Vhen it is desired to keep the sh utters open, the lever having the eccentric disk upon its shaft is tilted so as to bring the said disk to point toward the thumb-lever, and when new the thumb-lever is set and released the arm upon its shaft will force the shutters open by bearing against the bent end of the spring, but will be prevented from flying past the said bent end, consequently bearing against the end of the spring and holding it andthe shutters with its outer end, preventing the shutters from closing. By tilting the lever back into its normal position, and the eccentric with it, the thumb-lever will be allowed to move so as to allow the arm to pass the end of the spring, and will thus allow the shutters to again close. It will thus be seen that by using the elastic bulb the shutters may be opened and closed so as to give an exposure of. any desired length, and by using the trigger mechanism either an instantaneous exposure may be had or the shutters may be kept open for a long exposure, so that the shutters may be used for any kind of negative plates, for taking any kinds of objects, and in any kind of light, it being possible to have from an instantaneous exposure up to an exposure of unlimited length.

It will be se n that the shutters are placed at the place where the rays of light are concentrated,so that the opening and closing of the shutters will cut the rays at their concentrated point, and consequently the exposure will last a shorter time than when the shutter intersects the rays at any other point, and the shutters and their entire operating mechanism being inclosed in the casing upon the tube having the objective, no dust can enter through the aperture for the shutter, as little as any light can enter, and the shutters are more accessible being secured in the tube for the objective than where the-shutter or shutters are secured in the eamera box, so that any defect in their operation may easily be detected and remedied by simply unscrewing the tube and its casing.

The construction of the operative mechanism of the shutters is so simple that it is not very liable to get out of order, and the mechanism being inclosed in the cylindrical casing between the tubes of the objectives dust or moisture is not liable to enter so as to render the operation of the shutters doubtful.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States- 1. In a photographic camera, the combination of a bushing secured at the aperture in the front wall of the eamera,and having an interiorallyserewthreaded sleeve, and a collar screw-threaded upon its edge, an externallyscrew threaded tube having the inner objeetive and fitting within the threaded sleeve, and a tube having the outer objective, and a shutter screwed with its inner end upon the edge of the collar, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

2. In a photographic camera, the combina tion of a sickle-shaped shutter having a sleeve near its end pivoted upon a pin, and having a cut-away portion at its upper end, a sickleshaped shutter pivoted near one end at a point diametrically opposite to the pivotal point of the other shutter, a connecting-rod pivoted at one end to a point in front of the pivotal point of one shutter, and at its other end to a point to the rear of the pivotal point of the other shutter, an arm pivoted upon the upper end of the pivotal pin for the shutter having the cutaway sleeve and bearing against the inner shoulder of the cutaway part, and a rod pivoted to the end of the arm and projecting out through the casing inclosing the mechanism, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

3. In a photographic camera, the combination of a sickle-shaped shutter having a sleeve near its end pivoted upon a pin, and having a cutaway portion at its upper end, a sickle shaped shutter pivoted near one end at a point diametrically opposite to the pivotal point of the other shutter, a connecting-rod pivoted at one end to a point in front of the pivotal point of one shutter, and at its other end to a point to the rear of the pivotal point of the other shutter, an arm pivoted upon the upper end of the pivotal pin for the shutter having the cut-away sleeve and bearing against the inner shoulder of the cut-away part, a rod pivoted to the end of the arm, and having a head at its other end, a bulging diaphragm bearing against the headed end of the rod, and a bulb and flexible tube for inflating the bulging diaphragm, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

4 In a photographic camera, the combina tion of two sickle-shaped shutters pivoted near their ends at diametrically opposite points, a eonnectingrod pivoted at its ends forward of the pivotal point of one shutter and to the rear of the pivotal point of the other shutter, a spring secured upon the face of one shutter, and having its outer end bent to pass through a perforation near the edge of the inner end of one shutter, a shaft having a thumb-lever at one end and a circular disk near the other end formed with a notch, and provided with an outwardly-curved arm near the lever, a trigger having one end projecting against the disk and having a button at its other end, and a spring wound around and secured to the shaft and bearing against the outer end of the trigger, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

5. In a photographic camera, the combination of a pair of sickle-shaped shutters pivoted at diametrically-opposite points near their ends and provided with means for moving them simultaneously, a shaft having a thumb-lever at one end and a notched disk at its middle and formed with an arm near the thumb lever operating the shutters, a trigger pivoted to engage the notched disk and provided with a button at its outer end, a spring wound around and secured to the shaft and bearing with its other end against the outer end of the trigger, and a shaft having a lever at one end and an eccentric disk atits other end for hearing against the thumb-lever, as and for the purpose shown and set forth.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereunto affixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EDWARD ELOT'l' COLLISON, .ln.

\Vitnesses:

R. 0. Resume, Ron'r. A. WING. 

